‘Evil individuals’ charged in execution-style triple homicide in Bethalto
An Alabama man wanted on a murder charge in Alabama as part of multi-state crime spree is alleged to have “executed” a Bethalto woman, her son and another man in a home, authorities announced Saturday.
Brady Kane Witcher, 41, along with his 28-year-old accomplice, Brittany McMillan, who is originally from the Bethalto area but had recently moved to Alabama, were each charged with nine counts of first-degree murder, police said.
Shari Yates, 59, her son, Andrew Brooks, 30, and John McMillian, 32, were shot to death in a home in the 300 block of Mill Street in Bethalto.
“They executed, in essence, the individuals at that residence,” said Lt. Brian Koberna of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and a deputy commander of the Major Case Squad assigned to lead this investigation.
Authorities allege that Witcher was the gunman in the Bethalto killings and that this was not a random act of violence since the victims knew the suspects. Investigators believe the suspects went to the home to get another vehicle to avoid police.
“This was a brutal and heinous crime and crime spree that occurred,” Koberna said. “These individuals are evil individuals. They are some of the most evil individuals I’ve seen in my entire career.”
The bodies were found late Thursday after the Hazelwood, Missouri, Police Department found Yates’ Ford Fusion at a motel where Witcher and McMillan were arrested. Hazelwood officers asked Bethalto police to check on Yates’ home and that’s when the bodies were found.
The crime spree began with a homicide in Jefferson County, Alabama, in mid-December when a 31-year-old woman was shot to death and another woman survived this attack.
It then continued to the Clarksville, Tennessee, area with several retail thefts, weapons brandished, a stolen vehicle, a home invasion and aggravated battery, Koberna said.
Police did not say how they tracked down Witcher and McMillan at the Hazelwood hotel.
Officials noted that Brittany McMillan’s name is spelled differently than the Bethalto victim named John McMillian.
McMillan and Witcher are being held on a no-bond warrant in the St. Louis County Detention Center and are awaiting extradition to Madison County. If convicted of the murder charges in Madison County, they face a life sentence in state prison.
Bethalto Police Chief Mike Dixon spoke at a Saturday afternoon news conference and offered his condolences to the victims’ families.
Dixon, who has been in law enforcement for 30 years, said this case “is probably the most tragic and despicable act of violence that I’ve ever seen.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2019 at 6:02 PM.
